Tracym

Buying a house will help. Mortgage interest is deductible, as is property tax. Congratulations.

Sally

I guess you got NHS cover

Mallory

Yeah, I remember going to the doctor once when i lived in London. I had tonsillitis. He gave me a shot of penicillin, and I broke out in a huge rash. Then i got tonsillitis again about a year later. I went to another doctor, and waited forever in the surgery. I went to the chemist's to get the prescription filled, and he had written it for penicillin (when I already told him I was allergic). I didn't want to fight the waiting room again, so I toughed it out. On a trip back once I had a huge attack of poison ivy that broke out just after I arrived in UK. Went to doctor, and they didn't know what it was. Suffered for 2 weeks, till it went away. That's about it. Not much for my money really.

Sally

Well I didn't claim on my household insurance either but I didn't get my premiums back. You were still 'covered' if you had needed medical care.

meauxna

And the points, if you paid any for your loan.

Yay, new house!

Mallory

I am aware that I was covered by NHS, but you missed the point. I have 6 years of my working life not going toward the state pension, or toward US Social Security. Those 6 years don't count in either system toward my pension. There is a reciprocal agreement, and if I didn't have enough years in the US, then it could be used to add years to comply. But since I will have enough years in the US, then that's moot. Those 6 years don't count monetarily to either pension.

If Elvira stays in the USA long enough, then she and her husband can draw pensions from both countries. I am sure she is clever enough to have already planned that out, so I can't imagine what she means by saying she won't get anything.

Elvira

I was referring to Medicare. 12.3% of my earnings are paid as Medicare tax.

Which I won't be claiming on because by the time I'm old enough to use Medicare I'll be back in the UK.

Tracym

Ah. Medicare/social security.

It is btw, disability insurance also - though of course if you're not disabled, you won't use it.

Are you sure there is no refund? I may be hallucinating, but I thought there was something, or some sort of cooperation between the governments. I can't remember though, so I might just be totally wrong.

Tracym

Oh - I just thought of something.

Social security tax, which you're paying is for:
Retirement (social security) and Medicare (medical) after 65
Disability (social security) and Medicare (of course only if disabled)

But... I believe they CAN be collected abroad, in both cases. I don't know if that applies always, but I am certain that it applies sometimes. Perhaps you could check into that?

Bob

have to be a USC to claim them abroad.

Mallory

but there again, we aren't paying for ourselves right now are we? we are paying for the people who are on Medicare right now. you don't have a personal Medicare account. when I am on Medicare, younger people will be paying my way. that's how the system works.

Elvira

Well I guess we are kind of in the same boat - except Medicare tax is 12.3% and NI is (I believe 7.8%)...

Plus Medicare doesn't even cover prescriptions, so if I were to stay here to benefit from it, I'd still have to get supplementary insurance and pay co-pays for my meds.

Whichever way you look at it, British taxes and NI contributions offer better value for money.

Mallory

when you need that hip replacement, and don't want to wait 1-1/2 years, just fly on back to the US, and get it done on Medicare. you will be in much less pain, and you can fly off to Hawaii to recuperate.

when I was in Maui, half the people over there were from CA, recuperating from knee replacement surgery, etc.

Elvira

Thanks - I'll prefer to save the money that I would otherwise spend on insurance premiums and co-pays..........just in case...

Should be plenty of $$$ left in the kitty for a recuperative holiday

(Most people wait less than a year anyway.)

Mallory

well, sadly my mum had to wait too long, and it didn't have a happy ending.